What's everyone think of their prog power disc purchases?
GoPack!!
plus a little writeup on one of current favorites.
Mercenary - 11 Dreams. This is their new one and it rules. I was always
under the impression that this was a death metal band, but they really
aren't at all. It's melodic power metal although some refer to it as
melodic death metal.
I think the previous disc (Everblack) contains more in the way of death
vocals than 11 Dreams. Only two songs have what I call death vocals in them,
and even at that the majority of the tune contains either clean, or slightly
gruff vocals.
Mercenary reminds me of a stange mix of Evergrey, Children Of Bodem, and
maybe a little Nevemore here and there. It really works for me. They are
pretty aggressive for the most part, but also quite diverse. They use a lot
of keys, and one tune will be pure agression, and the next will be real
melodic. There is also a very nice ballad on the disc, and also a cover of
Kent's - Music Non-stop, which I don't recall hearing before. It fits on
the disc and adds to the diversity
Mercenary is a 6 man band with two vocalists, one of which handles all the
cleaner mid to high range stuff, and another than deals out the occasional
death parts, but mainly is somewhat gruff. It's nothing that would scare
anyone here. He reminds me some of the gruffest from Tom Englund of
Evergrey. The higher pitched singer is really quite good.
Now here is what pisses me off. These guys played at PP4.0, and I totally
blew it off because I thought they were a hack death metal band. Now I
fully regret not checking them out when I could have.
I also bought their Everblack disc at PP 5.0, and it is also quite good.
It's not as polished, and is more death oriented, and very agressive. I
like it a lot, but it is just a step below 11 Dreams. I think 11 Dreams
would appeal to a lot of you folks so you might check it out.
Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree. If you liked A Murder Of Crows you'll
like this. It's more of the same, although I like AMOC better. Still, it's
good stuff if you kind of like a band with some Tool, and Tull influence.
Dream Theater - Train Of Thought. I finally bought this at PP, after
listening to MP3's for a long time. Man, this is a great disc. I wish they
would have hacked the instrumental for one more strong song, but it's hard
to argue much about this disc. It's very aggressive for DT, and it has some
Metallica, and Black Sabbath feel to it at times. It probably ranks as my
2nd favorite of theirs behind the classic Images and Words.
Another disc I've played a lot of late is Lamb Of God's latest - Ashes Of
The Wake. I love these guys. The vocals are really rough, but they grew on
me a lot. You can understand what's being said by the vocalist, but they
are harsh vocals.
These guys are cool because they just onslaught you with dual guitar leads
that remind of the old school. They are reported to be huge Megadeth fans,
and you can kind of tell from the riffs that they are indeed. I can't think
of a more enjoyable guitar duo out there right now. Listening to these guys
just makes you want to injure someone.
They are doing rather well for themselves on MTV2, and are doing pretty good
record sales as well. I think they debuted in the top 40 on billboard's
charts, so they seem to have a pretty good appeal going on.
I have their last one - As The Palaces Burn - on mp3, but I never got into
it. I gave it a handful of spins and put in away. This latest one though
hit with me pretty quickly. I'm going to revisit ATPB again though real
soon.
Lets here some rundowns from you fellow Prog Power folks.
Greg in NJ
<pack....@verizonspam.net> wrote:
>Mercenary - 11 Dreams.
This is still growing on me. I'm not sure where it stands with me
yet, but I suspect it will finish the year in my Top 10.
>Mercenary reminds me of a stange mix of Evergrey, Children Of Bodem, and
>maybe a little Nevemore here and there.
A very good description.
>Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree.
I think people on PM:X need to stop calling this band "progressive".
There's nothing progressive about releasing the same disc, time after
time after time. It's solid stuff, but I've never heard three discs
where the songs were so completely interchangeable.
>Dream Theater - Train Of Thought.
Agreed. This is a real strong disc.
The only disc I've given serious spins to, of the 10 I picked up at
PPV, is Riverside's "Out of Myself" To me, this is what DST would be,
if they were much better. This CD is emotional, with fantastic lead
guitar play, well delivered vocals, and well constructed songs that
follow no particular formula. Their record label has tagged them "Neo
Prog". I'm not quite sure what that mean,s but this is a real well
done Prog Metal/Rock CD.
Greg in NJ
GoPack!!
"Greg in NJ" <gen...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:66e0m0l9pqev1eeem...@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 03 Oct 2004 03:19:52 GMT, "GoPack!!"
> <pack....@verizonspam.net> wrote:
>
> >Mercenary - 11 Dreams.
>
> This is still growing on me. I'm not sure where it stands with me
> yet, but I suspect it will finish the year in my Top 10.
>
> >Mercenary reminds me of a stange mix of Evergrey, Children Of Bodem, and
> >maybe a little Nevemore here and there.
>
> A very good description.
> >>
Thanks !! It is indeed a very good disc. It will make my top 6 or 7 easy,
I think.
> >Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree.
>
> I think people on PM:X need to stop calling this band "progressive".
> There's nothing progressive about releasing the same disc, time after
> time after time. It's solid stuff, but I've never heard three discs
> where the songs were so completely interchangeable.
> >>>
Agreed. It's more of the same. I like all their stuff, but you could mix
it all up and randomly play tunes and have no clue which disk it's from.
They all sound alike.
> >Dream Theater - Train Of Thought.
>
> Agreed. This is a real strong disc.
> >>>
Just excellent in parts. In The Name Of God is probably my favorite tune,
but a couple others are right there with it.
> The only disc I've given serious spins to, of the 10 I picked up at
> PPV, is Riverside's "Out of Myself" To me, this is what DST would be,
> if they were much better. This CD is emotional, with fantastic lead
> guitar play, well delivered vocals, and well constructed songs that
> follow no particular formula. Their record label has tagged them "Neo
> Prog". I'm not quite sure what that mean,s but this is a real well
> done Prog Metal/Rock CD.
>
> Greg in NJ>>>
I got the mp3's of this the other day. Haven't listening to it yet. Will
do so soon though.
Glenn
<pack....@verizonspam.net> wrote:
>Another disc I've played a lot of late is Lamb Of God's latest - Ashes Of
>The Wake. I love these guys. The vocals are really rough, but they grew on
>me a lot. You can understand what's being said by the vocalist, but they
>are harsh vocals.
I have to get that CD soon as I like As The Palaces Burn a whole
bunch. I think this is a good metal band for people who don't like
harsh vocals but are prepared to give them a chance - as you say they
are harsh, but yet it's in a pretty listenable sort of way.
>These guys are cool because they just onslaught you with dual guitar leads
>that remind of the old school. They are reported to be huge Megadeth fans,
>and you can kind of tell from the riffs that they are indeed.
The first track of theirs I heard was "11th Hour", and it screamed
early-mid era Slayer all the way to the bank and back again. So
indeed I have to agree it's a bit of an old school sound but yet at
the same time it doesn't sound dated.
>I have their last one - As The Palaces Burn - on mp3, but I never got into
>it. I gave it a handful of spins and put in away. This latest one though
>hit with me pretty quickly. I'm going to revisit ATPB again though real
>soon.
I dug it straight away... it's a bit of an album of two halfs - first
5 tracks are shorter and faster, and the second half of the album is a
bit slower and bit lengthier, but it's all prime metal!
Glenn
nm156 at ihug dot 777777777 Deadly Sins
co dot nz 7 77 Ways to Win
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~nm156 77 Holy Paths to Hell
Music page: as above + /music.htm 77 Downward Slopes
77 Bloodied Hopes
| 77 Are Your Burning Fires
_|_ 77 Your Desires
| 7 (MOONCHILD Smith/Dickinson)
Brent Wiescamp
"GoPack!!" <pack....@verizonspam.net> wrote in message
news:sdK7d.696$pw4.633@trnddc01...
<snip>
>
> Now here is what pisses me off. These guys played at PP4.0, and I totally
> blew it off because I thought they were a hack death metal band. Now I
> fully regret not checking them out when I could have.
>
But you weren't as into death vox back then were you? At any rate, live and
learn, I guess.
> Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree. If you liked A Murder Of Crows
you'll
> like this. It's more of the same, although I like AMOC better. Still,
it's
> good stuff if you kind of like a band with some Tool, and Tull influence.
>
It is more of the same. I like it just fine. The sameness of it might have
something to do with the lack of creative forces in the "band".
> Dream Theater - Train Of Thought. I finally bought this at PP, after
> listening to MP3's for a long time. Man, this is a great disc. I wish
they
> would have hacked the instrumental for one more strong song, but it's hard
> to argue much about this disc. It's very aggressive for DT, and it has
some
> Metallica, and Black Sabbath feel to it at times. It probably ranks as my
> 2nd favorite of theirs behind the classic Images and Words.
>
I've been playing the hell out of this disc. I like it quite a bit better
than I&W. I know, sacrilege. I also hear a bit of Toolishness in the second
track. The one lyric that just kills me on that track is, "I wanna feel your
body breaking". I'm just not feeling James on that line. If Dio had been
singing it, I'd definitely buy into it. Roxx, it's a nitpick. Don't kick my
ass over it. :)
> Another disc I've played a lot of late is Lamb Of God's latest [..]
>
I've heard at least one of theirs on the radio and on Headbangers' Ball. I
don't know if I could get into them all that much
>
> Lets here some rundowns from you fellow Prog Power folks.
Lessee, what else did I pick up?
Opeth, Still Life. I like it. I like it a lot. The death stuff is almost
like backing vocals rather than lead. There's plenty of the death leads but
not every track. Some of the melodies absolutely kick my ass and I've always
been a sucker for acoustic guitar. From what I gather, this is probably the
most accessible of theirs. Maybe the only one I'll have in my collection?
After Forever, Invisible Circles. It's ok. Nothing overly special about it.
Kinda like a cross between Nightwish and Evergrey? The talking parts where
the two characters argue really gets on my nerves. Must be something fucked
up from my childhood.
John Arch, A Twist of Fate. It's John Arch and Jim Matheos. What more do I
need to say? Any early Fates fan will like hearing fresh Arch, if nothing
else.
I heard Brand New Sin on the radio the other day. Sounds like
straightforward metal. They've got three guitarists in the band. The vocals
are kinda like Danzig maybe? I only heard the song once. I read a review of
it and they compare him to a cross between Phil Anselmo and John Bush. Dunno
about that. They also get compared to Judas Priest and Iron Maiden a fair
bit.
Roxanna
want to. My wallet just didn't want me too. :) I'm very happy with both of
my purchases though.
Dreamscape - End of Silence
This will definitely be one of my favorites of the year. I really love
the long track - End of Silence, which they played at Prog Power. For the
most part the whole disc is real good, especially the heavier tracks. There
are a couple ballads that are nice enough songs, but the vocals kind of rub
me the wrong way a little. Other than that I really don't have any
complaints, and have been listening to this one a lot.
Tiles - Fence the Clear
Great cd!! A little different from Window Dressing, the 2004 release I
bought earlier. But just as good, maybe better. I can't wait to get my
hands on their other 2 discs. And to see them again. I hope they make it
to a PP one day. The opening slot would be a good one for them.
Roxanna
> Mercenary is a 6 man band with two vocalists, one of which handles all the
> cleaner mid to high range stuff, and another than deals out the occasional
> death parts, but mainly is somewhat gruff. It's nothing that would scare
> anyone here. He reminds me some of the gruffest from Tom Englund of
> Evergrey. The higher pitched singer is really quite good.
Already Greg lemme ask you about this one, since you know the full
extent of my hatred for death vocals. :) Is this guy really no more harsh
than Tom Englund?
Greg in NJ
<cco...@nospam.comcast.net> wrote:
> Already Greg lemme ask you about this one, since you know the full
>extent of my hatred for death vocals. :) Is this guy really no more harsh
>than Tom Englund?
You wouldn't like it. You would grow frustrated, because the clean
vocals are well done. While Tom does get gritty, Mercenary uses full
on Death vox. If you're curious, I'll burn you the new one.
Greg in NJ
GoPack!!
"Peter Snoek" <psn...@planet.nl> wrote in message
news:ckjnra$81v$1...@reader08.wxs.nl...
> I have all 3 cd's from Dead Soul Tribe and I instantly liked the first one
> and The January Tree.
> But A Murder Of Crows is the one I don't like at the moment. So for me
it's
> luckily not more of the same on TJT!
> >>>>
Go figure. A Murder Of Crows is my favorite of the bunch.
> The other excellent purchase I made lately is the cd Out Of Myself by the
> Polish band Riverside. In several reviews they are descriped as influenced
> by / compared to or seen as a mix between Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree,
Opeth,
>
> Read for instance these reviews :
>
>
> Peter
>
>>>>
I've got this one downloaded but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.
It's received pretty good marks from what I've heard, and it might appeal to
me.
Go Pack
I think you could tolerate 70 to 80 percent of the latest - 11 Dreams,
but absolutely would hate the prior disc Everblack.
Like Greg said, this disc would probably frustrate you. You'd like
half of it quite a bit, but would hate a couple tunes, and would be
indifferent for the other couple cuts. If we could get you into just
a little bit of growling and shrieking you would love this disc. The
clean vocals are fantastic, and a large majority of the other cleaner
vocals are harsh, but are not death vocals and are easily
understandable. Also, if you have the prog power sampler from this
year the title track - 11 Dreams - is on it. This tune contains no
death vocals, but the gruff vocals found on a majority of the tracks.
Go Pack
I think there is little in the way of full on death vocals on 11
Dreams. Supremacy 2.0 contains some, but other than that I can't
think of anything that I would call death. The previous disc -
Everblack - is loaded with what I would call death vocals, but I think
this latest one is pretty accessible.
There is some shrieking type vocals found on tunes like World Hate
Center, Firesoul, and a few other instances on the disc. Some people
call the shrieking type vocal death, but I refer to it more as extreme
vocals.
The disc is dominated by higher pitched clean, and deeper clean but
gruff vocals. The deeper gruff stuff reminds me mainly of Englund
when he does his gruffest stuff.
I'm guessing Rox would not like World Hate Center, Supremacy v2.0 and
Firesoul, but would like 11 Dreams, Redestructdead, Sharpen The Edges,
Falling, Times Without Changes, Loneliness, and probably the cover
tune, Music Non Stop. To what degree she would like each is hard to
gauge, but a fair number of those tunes would remind some of Evergrey.
Go Pack
> "GoPack!!" <pack....@verizonspam.net> wrote in message
> news:sdK7d.696$pw4.633@trnddc01...
> <snip>
>
> >
> > Now here is what pisses me off. These guys played at PP4.0, and I totally
> > blew it off because I thought they were a hack death metal band. Now I
> > fully regret not checking them out when I could have.
> >
>
> But you weren't as into death vox back then were you? At any rate, live and
> learn, I guess.>>>>>
That's true, but I am pretty sure I would have dug the music. I still
wish I would have given them 10 minutes. The vocals would have pissed
me off at the time though. Hopefully Glen will bring them back soon.
He's a big fan. There new disc would appeal to a much wider audience
than the last one. I see this band being a #3 band soon.
>
> > Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree. If you liked A Murder Of Crows
> you'll
> > like this. It's more of the same, although I like AMOC better. Still,
> it's
> > good stuff if you kind of like a band with some Tool, and Tull influence.
> >
>
> It is more of the same. I like it just fine. The sameness of it might have
> something to do with the lack of creative forces in the "band".<<<
Probably true. Honestly the disc has already got lost in the shuffle
for me. I haven't been compelled to play it much of late.
>
> > Dream Theater - Train Of Thought. I finally bought this at PP, after
> > listening to MP3's for a long time. Man, this is a great disc. I wish
> they
> > would have hacked the instrumental for one more strong song, but it's hard
> > to argue much about this disc. It's very aggressive for DT, and it has
> some
> > Metallica, and Black Sabbath feel to it at times. It probably ranks as my
> > 2nd favorite of theirs behind the classic Images and Words.
> >
>
> I've been playing the hell out of this disc. I like it quite a bit better
> than I&W. I know, sacrilege. I also hear a bit of Toolishness in the second
> track. The one lyric that just kills me on that track is, "I wanna feel your
> body breaking". I'm just not feeling James on that line. If Dio had been
> singing it, I'd definitely buy into it. Roxx, it's a nitpick. Don't kick my
> ass over it. :)>>>>
In that second tune check out the sections in the middle that remind
of Metallica, and then Megadeth. Cool disc though. As I Am, and In
The Name Of God are my two favorite tracks. Like I've said before
this disc would have easily made my 2003 top 5, but I never listened
to it until this year.
>
> > Another disc I've played a lot of late is Lamb Of God's latest [..]
> >
>
> I've heard at least one of theirs on the radio and on Headbangers' Ball. I
> don't know if I could get into them all that much
>>>>
I wouldn't have though I would like them as much as I do, but the
guitar work is killer, and the production is flawless. It's like a
cross between Slayer, Pantera, and Megadeth, with a husky voiced
shouter as a singer. He's clearly understandable but gruff. I ranked
my top 10 the other day and this was my #8 for this year.
> >
> > Lets here some rundowns from you fellow Prog Power folks.
>
> Lessee, what else did I pick up?
>
> Opeth, Still Life. I like it. I like it a lot. The death stuff is almost
> like backing vocals rather than lead. There's plenty of the death leads but
> not every track. Some of the melodies absolutely kick my ass and I've always
> been a sucker for acoustic guitar. From what I gather, this is probably the
> most accessible of theirs. Maybe the only one I'll have in my collection?>>>>
The most accessible of theirs is Damnation which contains no death
vocals, and pretty much moody rock oriented tracks. Damnation is
their latest and it came out just last year I think.
If you want another one that is in lines style wise to Still Life get
Blackwater Park. It's got some heavy and some light. Good disc. I
can burn you some stuff if you want. You might want to go back and
check some of the posts I've written about stuff I've liked this year.
I can hook you up with some of that stuff. Maybe the latest
Mercenary might appeal to you?
>
> After Forever, Invisible Circles. It's ok. Nothing overly special about it.
> Kinda like a cross between Nightwish and Evergrey? The talking parts where
> the two characters argue really gets on my nerves. Must be something fucked
> up from my childhood.
> >>>>
The spoken word sections are awful, but I find them laughable now. I
for one always thought the spoken word part that opens up Operation
Mindcrime came off as amatuer hour, but I got past it and still rank
OM as my favorite all time album.
Invisible Circles took a while to hit me. I really started to dig the
male singers death vocals. I love the way he growls. It's not to far
off from the growling of Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth. I also like
Floor Jansen's female vox. I enjoy these guys much more than say
Nightwish.
> John Arch, A Twist of Fate. It's John Arch and Jim Matheos. What more do I
> need to say? Any early Fates fan will like hearing fresh Arch, if nothing
> else.
> >>>>>
I've heard one of two cuts from this and I recall liking Cheyenne
quite a bit. Arch's voice is somewhat annoying though.
> I heard Brand New Sin on the radio the other day. Sounds like
> straightforward metal. They've got three guitarists in the band. The vocals
> are kinda like Danzig maybe? I only heard the song once. I read a review of
> it and they compare him to a cross between Phil Anselmo and John Bush. Dunno
> about that. They also get compared to Judas Priest and Iron Maiden a fair
> bit.>>>>>
I never listen to the radio. The ban has been intact for several
years now. I think Greg from NJ also has a radio ban that has been in
place for ages.
Brent Wiescamp
"Go Pack" <go....@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:c8ba52c1.04101...@posting.google.com...
> "Brent Wiescamp" <wies...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<10m8912...@corp.supernews.com>...
> > "GoPack!!" <pack....@verizonspam.net> wrote in message
> > news:sdK7d.696$pw4.633@trnddc01...
<snip>
>
> In that second tune check out the sections in the middle that remind
> of Metallica, and then Megadeth. Cool disc though. As I Am, and In
> The Name Of God are my two favorite tracks. Like I've said before
> this disc would have easily made my 2003 top 5, but I never listened
> to it until this year.
>
Definitely a cool disc. It's gotten pretty constant play from me. In the
Name of God is my favorite but only by a bit. I like it all -- even the
instrumental. I've noticed the middle of the second track too.
> > Opeth, Still Life. I like it. I like it a lot. The death stuff is almost
> > like backing vocals rather than lead. There's plenty of the death leads
but
> > not every track. Some of the melodies absolutely kick my ass and I've
always
> > been a sucker for acoustic guitar. From what I gather, this is probably
the
> > most accessible of theirs. Maybe the only one I'll have in my
collection?>>>>
>
>
> The most accessible of theirs is Damnation [..]
>
> If you want another one that is in lines style wise to Still Life get
> Blackwater Park. It's got some heavy and some light. Good disc. I
> can burn you some stuff if you want. You might want to go back and
> check some of the posts I've written about stuff I've liked this year.
> I can hook you up with some of that stuff. Maybe the latest
> Mercenary might appeal to you?
>
The Mercenary would be cool. I've got an order working with The End and
Blackwater Park was already on there. I'll just add in Damnation. The main
reason for the order was the new Fates Warning.
> Invisible Circles took a while to hit me. I really started to dig the
> male singers death vocals. I love the way he growls. It's not to far
> off from the growling of Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth. I also like
> Floor Jansen's female vox. I enjoy these guys much more than say
> Nightwish.
>
Floor's definitely worth the listen. She's on the Star One thingy too, isn't
she?
>
>
> > John Arch, A Twist of Fate. It's John Arch and Jim Matheos. What more do
I
> > need to say? Any early Fates fan will like hearing fresh Arch, if
nothing
> > else.
> > >>>>>
>
>
> I've heard one of two cuts from this and I recall liking Cheyenne
> quite a bit. Arch's voice is somewhat annoying though.
>
Arch is definitely an acquired taste. I don't think there's any in betweeen
as far as liking him either. I like his vox and I always have. His disc
doesn't rate nearly as high as the stuff he did with Fates but it's still
good stuff for me.
> > I heard Brand New Sin on the radio the other day. Sounds like
> > straightforward metal.[..]>>>>
>
>
> I never listen to the radio. The ban has been intact for several
> years now. I think Greg from NJ also has a radio ban that has been in
> place for ages.
I should have said satellite radio. I'm the same way with regular radio.
We've got Sirius because the other one is owned by Clear Channel. They have
one stream that's nothing but metal. It's mostly death type stuff but every
once in a while something different gets thrown in. They also partnered up
with Dish Network so we get most of it on our TV too. It's pretty cool
because there's no commercials and when you hear a new song that you like
the band and album info is displayed. I can also hook into their streams
through the web.
Roxanna
> Greg in NJ <gen...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:<clqjm05jbk5kg7mj1...@4ax.com>...
> > On Sat, 9 Oct 2004 20:34:01 -0400, "Roxanna"
> > <cco...@nospam.comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Already Greg lemme ask you about this one, since you know the full
> > >extent of my hatred for death vocals. :) Is this guy really no more
harsh
> > >than Tom Englund?
> >
> > You wouldn't like it. You would grow frustrated, because the clean
> > vocals are well done. While Tom does get gritty, Mercenary uses full
> > on Death vox. If you're curious, I'll burn you the new one.
> >
> > Greg in NJ
>
>
> I think there is little in the way of full on death vocals on 11
> Dreams. Supremacy 2.0 contains some, but other than that I can't
> think of anything that I would call death. The previous disc -
> Everblack - is loaded with what I would call death vocals, but I think
> this latest one is pretty accessible.
Ok, well that makes sense, because I did hear Everblack and didn't like
it at all. I'll check out that single on the PP sampler, but I'm still
inclined to think Greg is probably right.